5 replies to this topic

[Purebob]

I was chuffed to find these available online : the venerable Peter Tomalin's experienes of six months with a VX.

http://www.evo.co.uk...ry.php?id=19745

You can find the other 2 reports by checking out the 'othe rreports' dropdown on the right.

[VEX]

Is it postable. Our firewall blocks it. Cheers Cw

[Purebob]

D'OH ! Deleted as Sicey posted 'em all. !

Edited by Purebob, 08 January 2003 - 01:00 PM.

[Sicey]

Here you go but no pics I'm afraid - that's it then. Forty years old, and I've got myself a sports car, so I can enjoy the sensation of the wind playfully tugging at my fast thinning and greying hair. I had thought that co-editors Barker and Meaden were compensating me for two years of Vectra motoring, but then they revealed that handing me the keys to the VX was simply confirmation of my mid-life crisis. Bastards. Actually I can put up with the jibes, because from where I'm sitting – behind the wheel of the joint-best everyday-usable sports car currently on sale in the UK – life feels pretty damn good. In fact, on a late summer's evening, firing the VX down the backroads that snick and snake from our Wellingborough office to my Cambridge home, it's hard to imagine anything much better. We've dribbled over the VX's chassis and steering many times before, but familiarity does nothing to dull the exquisite pleasure. When X335 EMJ took part in our Track Car of the Year competition, professional racer Simon Harrison confirmed what we already knew – this is a fabulously well sorted device. Comfortable enough to use as an everyday road car, it's plenty sharp enough to cut it as a track day tool, too. Wherein hangs a tale. You see, as soon as I took delivery of the VX, I began scouring the evo Active events for a suitably gentle entry into the world of track days. I hit upon a Wheeltorque-organised day at Jonathan Palmer's Bedford Autodrome – just ten minutes from the office, and more important, nothing to hit if I overcooked it. Perfect. Come the evening before the big day, work done, I tucked the hood in the boot, dropped into the bucket seat, turned the key, thumbed the starter button, and, after a brief churning and a bit of a cough and splutter, nothing. Aaaargh! After trying repeatedly to coax it into life, leaving it for a few minutes, checking the leads and the fuel level, switching the immobiliser on and off three times, swearing at it quite loudly, and trying again, I was forced to give up. It was spinning merrily, but apart from a couple more splutters, it was as dead as a very dead thing. In the end I took the Impreza WRX to the track day and thoroughly enjoyed myself (sorry about the tyres, Andy), but I was really missing my VX, which was being prodded and poked by the technicians at W Grose of Northampton, one of the Vauxhall dealerships that are authorised to fettle VX220s. They eventually diagnosed a duff ECU, and since these aren't things you can repair, a new one had to be ordered, fitted and the car's security code programmed in. It's been fine since, and as soon as we've put this issue to bed, I'll be planning my next track day. Life begins, and all that guff... Words/Pictures: Peter Tomalin Date acquired Aug 2001 Total mileage: 7983 Mileage this month: 1666 Costs this month: £0 MPG this month: 31.2 they say you only overcome your fear of spinning after you've actually spun a car. Nothing to be ashamed of; shows you're trying; taking it to the limit; addressing the envelope, etc. Unfortunately it doesn't stop you feeling a bit of a berk when it happens. Just one word of advice. If you've got any sense, you'll do all this in the middle of an old airfield. I find Silverstone does very nicely. I'd been itching to do a track day or two ever since the VX220 arrived back in August. I was all set to take the little silver sledge along to a Wheeltorque day at the Bedford Autodrome, but an errant ECU meant I had to abandon it and take the Impreza WRX instead. And excellent fun it was, too, but the VX itch went unscratched. Then, after waiting almost a month for a another track day that didn't clash with work commitments, two came along at once. Typical. Wheeltorque again, this time at Brands, or Goldtrack at Silverstone, which got the nod 'cos it's closer. The VX had just come back from Wales with fellow fast fleeter, Ducatiman John Hayman. He wanted something comfortable for the long haul and reckoned the VX fitted the bill. Bikers, eh? On the way he picked up a puncture on the right rear Bridgestone – fortunately he located the can of mousse under the front bonnet. He also had to pick up the front number plate – it's only stuck on with double-sided tape – and when it wouldn't restick, stuff it behind the driver's seat. With just a couple of working days and a weekend to go before my track adventure, I was relieved to locate a new tyre without much trouble (£136 from Central Tyre in Wellingborough). I then spent the Sunday morning giving the VX a thorough wash and checkover, including the fluid levels: the engine needed half a litre of oil to bring it right up to the mark, and the brake reservoir had fallen just below full, triggering an ultra-sensitive warning light. I decided not to refix the number plate till after my track day. The extra streamlining might be worth a couple of tenths a lap, you know... The final touch was to pump the tyres up a couple of psi all round – no need to go mad, it's such a light car – then with track day veteran Roger Green in tow, it was off to the home of the British GP (short for Gross Profiteering, or is it Gullible Punters, I can never remember). The GoldTrack Driving Club is one of the most reputable track day companies, and it didn't take long to realise why. The organisation is first class; they seem to attract people who enjoy fast cars but don't feel the need to behave like total arses to prove it; there's plenty of track time, and there's a great selection of machinery – everything from the usual Caterhams and Elises right through to a 1960s Bizzarrini supercar and a couple of GT Cup Porsches. I tucked into the novices group. It's a heart-in-mouth moment when you venture out onto the full Grand Prix circuit for the first time, but everyone's been told to build up pace gradually, and after a few acclimatisation laps you soon forget your nerves and start to enjoy yourself. And we did. In the VX you have no choice, it's just such a great tool. Flyweight, almost telepathically responsive, and seriously quick. There is, however, one flaw – and a potentially serious one. We found that after a handful of quick laps the ABS became ever more eager to kick in, and as it pulsed away, stopping power became progressively weaker. Both Rog and I reckoned we'd rather take our chances with a non-ABS set-up, like the Elise's. You'd have to drive very hard on the road for a sustained period to reproduce the effect, but it's still a worry. Otherwise it's a spanking track car, one that sends a torrent of messages through the steering and the thinly-padded seat. Which made me feel even dafter when I ignored the signals and went in way too quick into an already quickish right-hander. If anything, my second rotation felt more violent than the first. By some fluke I managed to keep it on the tarmac, and even finished up facing the right way down the track. I might even have driven off with a nonchalant shrug. Had I not stalled. Words/Pictures: Peter Tomalin Date acquired August 2001 Total mileage: 9650 Mileage this month: 953 Costs this month: £144.80 MPG this month: 30.7 Comments: 0 Article from: evo the first time I drove a VX220 was the sherbet yellow example on evo Car of the Year 2000. It wasn't in the most propitious circumstances. The Welsh weather was so godawful the hood stayed up all day and the first time I opened the door a piece of trim fell off. Straight into the puddle of water on the driver's seat. Oh, and the heater was broken. So it must have done something right, because by the end of the day I was in no doubt that it was the most evo car I'd driven all year. Every bit as enthralling as the Elise, even better steering, and substantially quicker too. I duly put it top on my scoresheet, ahead of 911 Turbo, Diablo and P1. Unfortunately others weren't quite so prepared to overlook the faults of this pre-production car and it finished fifth. The fools! Quality control was undoubtedly an issue, though, and production was delayed while Vauxhall chiefs banged heads together at Hethel and wondered what they'd gotten themselves into. Meanwhile my name was pencilled-in next to the promise of a long-term test car in time for summer 2001. I was a happy bunny. In fact it wasn't until last August that X335 EMJ arrived, and it soon became apparent it wasn't quite factory-fresh. It came with more than 6000 miles already on the clock, and being a press fleet car, it hadn't exactly been handled with kid gloves. Only later did I discover just how hard some of those miles had been. Thumbing a copy of Autocar I came across an article about how the magazine had taken a bunch of readers out to Spain on a Vauxhall jolly to thrash around the Jerez track for several days. And the registration number of the car in the pic being flung around by grinning madmen? You guessed. That probably explained the scuffs on the trim and the rattles over sharp bumps or potholes. But it didn't really explain the way the top of the facia was lifting at both ends, or the generally poor fit and finish. Door panels shook, the headrest-type-thing behind the passenger seat kept coming adrift, the passenger footrest was loose. The body seemed better finished, but the first time I washed the car by hand the front number plate fell off, one of the rear light covers misted up, I snagged my sponge on the wires for the high-level brake light, which were dangling in space, and I sliced a finger on the jagged edge of the mesh trim around the exhaust pipes. I was not impressed. Had I just forked out £23,000 for this car, I would have been something close to apoplectic. It is only fair to reiterate that this was an early car, and Vauxhall has pushed hard for improved quality. If you've recently bought a VX220 I'd be interested to hear from you, and I promise to report back when we've assessed the finish of later cars. So drop me a line. The daft thing is, had it been wearing a Lotus badge we'd be more indulgent. Somehow it's fair game because the cheques are being written out to Vauxhall. And then there was the woefully ill-judged ad campaign. The VX didn't have the best start in life. But it took just a handful of late-evening cross-country drives home to remind me why we rate this car so highly. The gutsy 2.2-litre 16-valver from the Astra Coupe has next to nothing to push along. Many was the hot hatch driver left floundering behind, and even Impreza jockeys weren't immune. The VX also has a superb high-speed ride, better than most Caterhams, arguably better across a mixture of surfaces than even the Elise, its suppleness keeping all four tyres square to the tarmac, building confidence. Pretty soon I was aching to take it on a track day or two. First time I was thwarted by a malfunctioning ECU, replaced by W Grose of Northampton, one of the fifty Vauxhall dealers authorised to fettle VX220s. A couple of weeks later I tiptoed nervously onto a damp Silverstone GP circuit at a GoldTrack day. A handful of laps later it was my turn to grin like a madman. It's hard to imagine that anything the sensible side of a Caterham or Westfield could be more satisfying. The torrent of information is almost intoxicating. Which could explain why I managed a magnificent 720degree spin on my last session of the day. On a serious note, we found that after repeated hard braking the VX's ABS seemed to be triggering earlier and earlier, while actual braking power was significantly reduced. That said, it was never a problem on the road. Mechanically it was hard to fault. Wonky ECU aside, it ran perfectly. The only costs were £131 for the 10,000-mile service, £136 for a new tyre after we collected a nail, £6.95 for a can of tyre mousse, and half a litre of oil. The hood arrangement was a doddle once you'd sussed it, and the whole shebang slipped easily inside the usefully sized rear boot. Just a pity about the flaky trim. In the right conditions it was as much fun as any road car I've driven, including supercars costing ten times as much. On the other hand, when the skies and roads turned grey and slimy and the temperature plummeted it was as awkward and flawed as any ragtop I can think of, Caterhams included. Hood up, wind noise at anything over 60mph made it hard to hear yourself think, let alone hear the weedy stereo. And getting in and out was a pain in the neck (and other places). For the first time in years, my wife would come to the front door in the morning to see me off – or rather to watch me thread my less than athletic form inside. You had to laugh, apparently. But then the VX was never as some described it – a more habitable, refined version of the Elise. More exclusive, yes. And usefully quicker than the standard Lotus, thanks to its torquier motor. It looks sharper too – I particularly like the profile, though I'm not sure about the snout or the lights. You will have twigged by now that this is a summer fun car. Of course you could use it all year round, but if you could possibly afford to run two cars you'd have to be a masochist to choose the VX as everyday transport. So when the men came to take it back just after Christmas, there were no tears shed. It would have been different back in August – they'd have had to catch me first. There was just time for one more great drive – when we took all our long-termers up to the North York Moors in December. Those two days encapsulated it all – boring journeys with the hood up were just about bearable. Hood down on the right roads, I can honestly say it was as good as it gets. And I know that come the first sunny spring day I'm going to miss it like mad. Words/Pictures: Peter Tomalin Date acquired August 2001 Total mileage: 5599 MPG this month: 31mpg

[BogBrush]

It's interesting to note that they had problems with the ABS on track as well. If only there was some way to disable the ABS without disabling the speedo <_<

[vx_220]

surely there must be if palmersport can do it